Memories
by The Eccentric
Summary: The five memories of Wally that Artemis wouldn't trade anything for and the one she would have given everything to have.
1. First Date

******Consider it disclaimed.**

******enjoy.**

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**first date.**

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Artemis didn't bother stopping off at her locker once her AP Lit class ended, she had things to do and Central City was calling. She glanced at her phone and reread the last text she received from Wally.

**'Dont be l8, im starving'**

She didn't stop herself from grinning or rolling her eyes at antics of the Team's resident could really be childish sometimes. Like after the kiss in the Watchtower, they had been taking it slow. Extremely slow, as in there has been no kind of progress towards even talking about their kiss. When they would get a moment alone, always at the Cave, Robin had a very innate talent of popping in at the right (or would it be wrong?) moment and making them both too uncomfortable to talk.

Ignoring the calls of one particular freshman troll, Artemis walked towards the bus stop before the transportation arrived. She counted her lucky stars that Grayson hadn't abandoned his butler like he had last time to board the bus just to tell her to have a good day. She didn't have to wait long for the bus to arrive and she boarded, snagging a seat near the back. Staring out the window she carefully calculated the time she had to make it to Central before Wally got out of class.

The bus ride would only last about fifteen minutes. Then from the bus stop she would have about a five minute walk to the apartment and if she didn't change out of her uniform she could get to the phone booth in ten minutes by foot. Once she got to Central, she would have to figure out her way to Wally's high school, which hopefully wouldn't take the thirty minutes she would have until he got out of class. For the most part, the people in Central were nicer than the citizens of Gotham and she was sure that she could find someone to give her directions in the case of her getting lost.

Artemis took no time getting off once the bus came to a screeching didn't notice that she walked quite a bit faster than normal, eager to get home and head to Central. It wasn't long until she was mounting the stairs two at a time to get to their apartment. It only took one fluid movement to pull her house key from her blazer pocket and swiftly unlock her door. Before she had even stepped through the door she could hear her mother greeting her from the kitchen.

"Artemis, is that you?"

"Yeah, mom. It's me," Artemis called back, shutting and locking the door behind her. It took her no time to find her mother and give her a quick kiss on the cheek as she continued on to drop her bag off in her room.

"You look like you're in a hurry. Are you going somewhere?" Paula Crock watched her daughter from the open entryway of the kitchen as Artemis rushed into the bathroom to touch up what little makeup she was wearing. "Maybe on a date?"

Artemis pulled back from the mirror to stare at her mother incredulously, nearly stabbing herself in the eye with the mascara wand in her hand. "Definitely not a date, mom."

"Such a shame that you can't go," her mother turned her wheelchair to go back into the kitchen.

"What! Why?" Artemis finished applying a thin coat of mascara without poking herself in the eye and followed her mother into the kitchen. If her mother kept this up, she would be late.

"If you aren't going to tell me where you're going, you can't go," her mother repeated pulling a container of yogurt from the fridge. "How am I supposed to know you're not joining some gang?"

"Mom, come on. A gang, really?"

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady."

"Fine. I'm going to grab a bite to eat with Wally in Central," Artemis relented, her eyes catching the time in the microwave. "And I'm going to be late."

Her mother chuckled lightly and gave her a small wave. "Fine, fine. Go and you can tell me all about your date when you get home."

"Mom!" Artemis gave her mother a look and hurried out of their apartment without another glance. She bounded down the stairs and rushed out to the street, dodging the odd pedestrian here and there. The phone booth was across the street and taking a quick look in each direction she strolled across the street and before anyone noticed, she entered the the Zeta port.

Another Zeta later and she was in Central City. The first thing she noticed about the city was that multiple sirens were blaring fairly close off to her left. Pulling out her phone, she was down to twenty-one minutes, but without a second thought she raced towards the origin of the offending sirens. After having pushed through the crowd of people, she turned off onto a deserted side street and after passing one block she was nearly run over by a familiar red blur.

The Flash stopped before she did and steadied her as she came to a sudden stop. "Artemis? What are you doing here?"

"Is everything okay? Do you need any help?" Artemis ignored his question in favor of her own.

"Nah, everything is fine. Didn't even need Kid for this one. Now what are you doing here?" He gave her a stern look at the repeated inquiry.

"Just...uh...hanging out with Wally," Artemis mumbled. She could feel the flush rising up her neck in embarrassment.

"It's about time you two finally went out! He won't be out of school for another fifteen minutes though," the Flash pointed out good naturedly, looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I figured I'd meet him there. Which reminds me..."Artemis trailed off, looking around a bit unsure of what direction to go.

"Six blocks down, take a left, and go straight. You can't miss it," the Flash pointed down the street, and was off. "Have fun on your date!"

"Well that wasn't embarrassing at all," she mumbled, heading in the direction he had pointed her in making sure to count the blocks carefully. She finally got to the end of the sixth block and the sirens had stopped behind her. Taking the left as instructed she could already see the school lingering off in the distance. She crossed the street just as the final bell started ringing and just as her foot hit the sidewalk, the unmistakable red head burst out the doors before anyone else.

"Well would you look at that," Wally grinned in her direction as he approached her seconds later. " Right on time. Nice uniform, babe."

"Nice shirt," Artemis commented dryly on his Batman shirt. "It's pretty sad that I had to come pick you up for our first date."

"Date?" Wally's voice broke on the simple word and Artemis had to bite her tongue to stop the caustic remark that had come to her mind. It only took him a few seconds to laugh it off. "Oh, yeah. Well I'll have you know I don't put out until the fifth."

"Look at that guys! West wasn't lying! Aright, Wally!" Artemis glanced over Wally's shoulder at who she presumed was his friends waving and yelling in their direction.

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Another yelled and Wally took a second to turn away and make a cutting movement across his throat in their direction. This just caused them to laugh and call out more.

"Fifth date, huh? Shame," Artemis joked, attempting to get him to stop silently threatening his friends. "So where do you wanna go?"

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" He was quick to turn back around and looked slightly surprised.

Artemis ignored him to repeat her question, "Well you're the one that's hungry. Where to?"

"Make sure to be home before dark, Wally-kins!" Wally groaned and tugged her arm, leading them across the street away from the catcalls.

"I guess your choice since you're the one that picked me up," Wally finally answered, shrugging as he added, "I don't really care as long as it's food."

The two started walking in the direction she had come from. "Alright fine then. Star City or Gotham?"

"That'll take too long. Just pick somewhere in Central. The food is just as good here as it is anywhere else."

"You realize that I have no idea what places are good here," Artemis deadpanned giving her companion a flat look.

"Well let's see: Chester's has the best burgers, Mimi's puts IHOP to shame in the breakfast department, Cornerstop is famous for their ribs, the Jasmine Dragon is arguably the best chinese buffet in the country, Tino makes a great pizza, Totty is by far the best dess-"

Artemis choose to stop him before he decided started reciting the take out menus of all his favorite places to eat. She pointed across the street at a shabby little diner. "How about there?"

Wally stared extremely hard at the small building before turning his stare towards her. "Are you sure you want to eat there?"

"Hey, you said as long as it's food," Artemis reminded him as she took her turn to pull him across the street. Wally stared over his shoulder longingly, probably in the direction of Chester's or Totty, and Artemis felt nothing but satisfaction. It was his own fault for letting her pick.

They entered the establishment and Artemis was pleased to see that it was in no worse condition than the diner she frequented in Gotham with her friends from North. Wally was far less pleased than she was, she could tell by the slight snarl of his lip.

"Artemis, I don't think it's safe to eat here," he had moved closer to whisper in her ear. "If we leave now, they'll never noti-umph."

A stiff elbow to the stomach had shut him up fairly quickly and she took the forced silence as a go ahead. Making her way to a booth towards the back, she gave a slight smile to the woman working behind the counter.

"I'll be right with you, dear. Just sit wherever you like," the older woman informed her as she went back to pouring coffee to the few men sitting on the stools.

Artemis slid into one side of the booth, noting that it was much cleaner than the outside of the building and seconds later Wally joined her.

Except instead of sitting across from her, he decided to plop down on the red vinyl beside her.

"You cannot be serious."

"Hey, it is a date, babe." He reached across her to grab the menu from the holder against the wall. "It's meant to bring us closer, right? Sitting next to you brings us closer. Twice as close in half the time."

"And you are serious," she muttered to herself, receiving a grin from Wally at the comment. She ignored it and leaned over to skim over his menu, rather than grabbing one for herself. Closer and whatnot.

The older woman had finally left the counter and approached their table. "Welcome to Bambi's, I'm Sharon. Can I get you two something to drink?" The woman must say the same thing to every single customer as her voice had a practiced lack of inflection as she spoke.

"I'll have a chocolate malt," Artemis responded first, getting her a strange look from Wally. What did she not seem like the chocolate malt type? "Wally? Do you want something to drink or not?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll just have a Coke," he turned his attention back to the waitress.

"Alright, chocolate malt and a Coke. Do you two need a few more minutes on the food or do you know what you want?" Sharon spoke as she jotted down their drink orders, looking up at them once she was finished.

"I know what I want," Wally offered giving her a questioning look.

"I just want the seasoned cheese fries."

"Alright, cheese fries for the lady and for you?" Sharon asked Wally.

Artemis paid no mind as Wally began to rattle off a long list of the menu items that he wanted. Finally, he finished and Sharon left the table shaking her head mumbling about metabolisms.

"So you'll never believe who I ran into on the way here." Artemis had never been good at small talk, especially when she was the one that had to initiate it.

"Oh god, the 'ran into' pun. Not you too," Wally frowned as he lamented.

"I didn't even think about it until now." Huh, she had kind of made a pun. Her bad. "But since you didn't guess. It was your uncle."

"Well that's reassuring," he muttered. "And what did he have to say about seeing you here?"

"Other than telling me 'it's about time' and 'to have fun on your date', nothing of interest," she replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Well that's Uncle Barry for you." Wally paused to thank Sharon as she sat down their drinks and promised that their food would be out soon. "I expect I'll hear all about it when I see him."

"I'm sure you will, he seems like that kind of uncle," Artemis agreed, plucking the cherry off the top of her malt and popping it into her mouth. The two fell silent, unsure of what to say next. Artemis occupied herself with spooning the perfect amount of malt and whipped cream before taking a bite and Wally played with the paper wrapped from his straw.

Surprisingly, Sharon was the one to break the silence between them as she came over with two plates, sitting the food down in front of them. She regarded Wally before speaking, "The rest of yours will be out soon. I figured I should bring something out, since the two of you can't even keep a conversation going. If this is the first date, you're going to have to try a little harder or there's no hope for the two of you."

She left as quickly as she came, leaving the two of them more stunned than anything. Wally gave exchanged a rather disbelieving look with Artemis and the next thing they knew, they were shaking with silent laughter.

"That really just happened, didn't it?"

"God I hope not, Baywatch. Maybe we're both hallucinating."

"We really are bad at this," Wally sighed as Artemis picked at her fries.

"So bad that we might just have to date each other just to spare other people from our lack of conversational skills," she popped a particularly cheese ladened fry into her mouth and was surprised at how good it was.

"You know, we just might have to," Wally agreed through a mouthful of burger.

"I get to pick the place again though," Artemis said after savoring the flavor of another fry.

"No way. This place-" Artemis shut him up by holding up one of her fries in offering. He didn't take the fry, instead biting down on it. Artemis let it go, rolling her eyes as she did so. "Feeding me already, babe? Beautiful start to a beautiful relationship."

"I was handing it to you, if I had know you were just going to eat it, I would have tossed it on your plate," Artemis corrected him dryly making a show of wiping her hand on her napkin despite the fact he hadn't even touch her. "And yes I do get to pick the place next time."

Wally didn't say anything until she had smacked his hand away from her plate. He gave her a pitiful look as he pretended to nurse his abused hand. "Seriously, you can't keep those to yourself. They've got to be the best cheese fries I've ever had."

"Exactly why I get to pick," Artemis relented smugly, nudging the plate in his direction just a bit. Wally happily took one of the feed himself.

"On our second date, right?"

"Well unless you want to go ahead and say it's our fifth date," Artemis teased the now red Wally. "Then yes. Second date it is then."

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**I was trying to work on a new chapter for Cracks in a Mountain, but this idea kept coming at me.**  
**Hopefully, I'll get this out of my mind so I can get back to that.**  
**It's all because of the season finale...which I am still not over.**


	2. Night In

**Consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

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**night in**

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"I'll be back around ten, Artemis," Paula Crock glanced over her shoulder at her daughter as she spoke. "You and Wally be good. If you need anything just call."

"I know, Mom. It's not like play bridge every Friday night or anything." Artemis rolled her eyes, but stood to give her mother a kiss on the cheek before her departure.

Paula just ignored her, giving her a quick wave as she let herself out of the apartment, "I'll see you later tonight, Artemis. Have fun."

"Bye, Mom," Artemis calls after her, even though the door was already closed. She looks at the clock and figures that Wally will be there in the next ten minutes or so. She really needed to start di-

A quick knock on the door stopped her thought process.

Artemis pulled herself from the couch and glanced through the peephole to find her boyfriend pulling a face deliberately so she would see. She opened the door with an unamused face and Wally quickly dropped the goofy expression.

"Uh, hey babe," Wally greeted, a grin spreading across his face. Artemis was happy to note that he was far more attractive that way.

"God, I am glad to see you," Artemis grinned back and stepped aside to let him into the apartment. The door was shut and locked behind him and she was immediately pulled into a kiss.

"I really need to get started on dinner, this can wait," she mumbled trying to will herself into pulling away. Wally let her go with another grin.

"Whatever you say, babe. Food is just as good."

"Hey!" Artemis punched him in the arm playfully and Wally feigned pain.

"I'm joking, but I will need the energy for later!" he protested as he followed her into the kitchen. "So what time's your mom supposed to get home?"

"She said around ten, but you know how she is about her bridge games," Artemis replied as she began pulling what she needed out of the cabinets.

"From what you tell me, I'd be scared to play bridge with your mom." Wally hopped up onto the counter, watching Artemis fill a pot with water for the pasta.

"I'd be pretty scared myself," Artemis admitted. "So how was your day?"

"Pretty standard Friday. We had a sub in advance chem when we were supposed to do a lab. He ended up losing an eyebrow, but it was okay. One of the cheerleaders managed to draw a pretty convincing one back on for him before the next period started," Wally chuckled. Artemis shook her head as she dropped the uncooked noodles into the boiling water and moved on to heating up the sauce.

"And for some reason you decided not to tell him that he was probably going to blow his eyebrow off?" Artemis paused to raise an eyebrow at her boyfriend and moved on to the salad. "Isn't that kind of mean?"

"Hey, I didn't say I didn't warn him," Wally protested, holding his hands up as if innocent.

"Did you warn him?" Artemis didn't look up from chopping the tomato.

"Well...I thought about it?" He offered weakly and Artemis rolled her eyes. "So how about you? How was your day?"

"I've had better," she replied dryly.

"What? That freshman still trolling you every chance he gets?" Wally asked with a smirk. "Do you want me to go have a talk with him?"

"Grayson is a sophomore now, Wally, and I can take care of him." Artemis tossed the tomatoes into the salad and went back to check on the pasta. Almost done.

"So what's wrong? You seem out of it." This time when he asked, he seem genuinely concerned.

"It was just some seniors giving me a hard time. Couldn't take rejection and decided that harassing the scholarship student would just be easier." Artemis sighed and moved to hug Wally. He wrapped his arms around her and shook his head.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You could kick their butts any day."

"Except I can't. And that is by far the worst part. I just have to stand there and take it," Artemis pointed out, bitterness showing through in her voice. She pulled away to turn off the the heat source under the pasta and moved to drain the water. She went on to pull two sets of dinnerware from the cabinet and began making their plates (one with a noticeably larger portion).

"So you had a bad day and I neglected to save an innocent substitute's eyebrow. What we need is a rom-com." Artemis groaned at the suggestion. "Oh come on, I brought 500 Days of Summer and I know you're going to love it."

"Mom made me sit and watch that with her. It was awful," Artemis said over her shoulder. "How about Memento, I know you haven't seen it and the premise of the movie is really interesting.

"Man, I can't believe you want to watch a psychological thriller, babe. After attending Gotham Academy all day, I would think that you'd wanna take a break from thinking," Wally said from his perch on the counter beside the stove.

Artemis sighed as she pulled a bottle of water from the fridge for herself and tossing another one in Wally's direction. "You're the one that wants to watch 500 Days of Summer. It's supposed to be a rom-com, but seriously Wally, there is seriously nothing funny or romantic about that movie."

"And you're the one that wants to watch Memento. Doesn't that have, like, the guy from The Matrix in it? Who would want to watch him? He acts the same way in every movie!" Wally hopped off the counter and took the proffered plate and followed Artemis back into the living room. They each took a seat on the couch, paying no mind to the television playing in the background.

"Memento doesn't have Keanu Reeves in it! It's Guy Pearce and have you even seen it? It's about a guy that suffers from short term memory loss. He's left himself clues and notes to help him find the guy that murdered his wide. It's really a great movie, you know," Artemis huffed, taking a small bite of her pasta. It was still far too hot for consumption by normal people so she placed her plate down on the coffee table to cool while Wally shoveled his in, making a face at the first mouthful before swallowing.

"I can't believe you like stuff like that," he commented after taking a large gulp of water.

"Is there something wrong with liking that kind of stuff?" Artemis crossed her arms.

"Well it's sadistic really. You're supposed to watch movies to relax and get away. Movies like Memento - and what was the other one you suggested?" Wally looked towards her eagerly as he posed the question

"Rear Window, it's classic Hitchcock!"

"Yeah, that one. Well you're being counterproductive when you watch movies like that! Instead of enjoying a story beginning to end, you have to think the entire time about how the story is going end or how something happened or why there was focus on a particular detail. It's just dumb," Wally finished with triumphant grin.

"I like thinking, thank you very much," Artemis shot back, glaring at her boyfriend. "Sorry that my psych-thrillers aren't nearly as brainless as your stupid, cliche rom-coms, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with thought provoking plot lines."

"Hey, don't hate on romantic comedies. They're the backbone of modern romance." Wally glared back as he took another forkful of pasta.

"Are you serious, Wally? None of the stuff in those silly movies ever happens in real life," Artemis claimed in disbelief.

"Says the girl that doesn't have a single romantic bone in her body. Just because you don't like rom-coms doesn't mean you can put them down," Wally countered, sitting his now empty plate down.

"Well since I don't have a romantic bone, you obviously don't have a brain! And somehow that makes it perfectly okay to thrash psychological thrillers if you don't like them. Excuse me for living in the real world, hypocrite." Artemis was getting seriously annoyed now and the glower on her face was proof.

"The real world? So nothing romantic has ever happened to you in the real world?

Oh, like I don't know. Maybe me sending you a bouquet of hibiscus just because you commented on how pretty they were while we were on a mission in the Tropics the week before? Or how about me coming to Gotham everyday on my Spring Break just to walk you home from school? Are those the kind of things that aren't supposed to happen in real life?" Wally gestured towards her as his voice rose slightly in volume. He looked to her with expectant eyes waiting for her answer.

"Hey, I never asked you to do either of those things, Wally!" Artemis pointed out in her defense. She knew that it was weak, but he didn't use to act like that.

"That's what a boyfriend is supposed to do, Artemis! Be spontaneous and romantic!" He was now practically yelling and Artemis was feeling like the day couldn't get any worse.

"Well I'm sorry that my idea of romantic isn't the same as yours," she muttered, grabbing both of their plate with the intent of retreating to the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks at his next question.

"Oh, this is going to be a riot. So what do you, of all people, find romantic, Artemis?" The tone was mocking and did nothing less than infuriate her even further.

"Unlike what romantic comedies have brainwashed you into thinking, I don't need the grand gestures or expensive flowers out of the blue," Artemis spat out as she willed her feet to move once again.

"You could have saved me fifty bucks if you had told me that a few months ago, you know," Wally commented nastily.

"You didn't ask. In fact, you didn't even try this romance crap in the first few months of our relationship," Artemis added, stopping in the entryway to the kitchen.

"You know what? I give up then! I was just doing what girls are supposed to like!"

"You want to know what girls like? They like to spend time with their boyfriends. It doesn't matter if they're going to a movie or sitting at home. You can ask a girl to go to the park and watch the clouds and it would make them happy! What I, the person with absolutely no romantic bone in their body, finds romantic is just being with the person that I love. It doesn't matter what the situation is or what we're doing as long as we're together," Artemis spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, before turning on her heel and continuing into the kitchen.

"Oh."

Wally West sat for a long moment just processing what had been said or at least what he had gotten from her statement. When she returned from the kitchen, sitting at the opposite end of the couch seeming quite a bit calmer.

"Happy now?" Her voice was even and lacked the anger that it had held before.

"I have one question." His throat was dry and it seems like his heart was beating faster than it was supposed to as he waited for her to speak.

"What now?"

"I know that you said I didn't have a brain earlier, so I think I'm allowed to ask, but...did you just say that you...loved me?" Wally carefully avoided looking at her as he asked, feeling his cheeks heat up with every passing second.

Artemis fared no better, looking the perfect imitation of a deer caught in the headlights. She had been caught off guard with the question. Her mouth moved wordlessly as she repeated what she had said and once she had finished she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt before answering slowly, "I guess I did."

"Did you mean it?" Another question asked with hesitance.

She half laughed, feeling a little hysterical and a little light headed as she answered, "Yeah, I did."

Wally gave a little chuckle himself, argument forgotten as he reaches over and grasp her hand in his. Looking like a cat that ate the canary, he grinned widely and squeezed her hand. "Well I guess I love you too, babe."

He thinks that he could get used to her idea of romantic.

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**I need to stop writing things out of order. As soon as I finish something, I want to edit and then upload it. Only then to remember that it wouldn't be in order and that would bother me.**

**I have the next two to finish working on and the entire set will be finished and then this plot bunny can be laid to rest and I can get back to working on my cosplays and other projects.**

**Hopefully, you've enjoyed this.**

****The repeated paragraphs at the beginning of the chapter have been fix. Sorry, I didn't even check the formatting before I went to bed last night. That was completely my fault. Thanks for pointing it out to me, BlAcKoNiX.**


	3. Searching for the Man Cave

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

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**searching for the man cave**

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"We have looked at ten places. Ten places, West, and you haven't like a single one. I think we have a better bet of finding a cardboard box you'd like," Artemis moaned, dragging her feet as she followed her boyfriend. They were on their way to the eleventh place this week and Wally was no less eager than he had been bright and early Monday morning.

"Oh come on, babe. There's nothing wrong with being picky. If I'm going to live here for the next four years, I want to actually like the place," Wally called over his shoulder as he started up the walk to the next complex. Artemis walked even slower than before, pulling out her phone to check the time. They were supposed to be due at the Allen's, oh...about fifteen minutes ago.

Pocketing her phone, Artemis considered calling out to Wally in hopes to postpone this walk through until tomorrow, but he was already leaving the office holding a shiny key.

"Come on, babe! I have a good feeling about this one!" He yelled, waving the key happily before racing up the first flight of stairs without her.

Artemis took her time, finally reaching the third floor (the door at the far end of the corridor was ajar) and making her way to the apartment. By the time she had entered the living room and closed the door behind her, Wally was already coming on from the hall looking rather disappointed.

"Good feeling turn out to be a lie?" He nodded sourly.

"Well let's go. We have three more places to look at before we can head to Uncle Barry's," he sounded a little less sullen as he spoke this time. Artemis groaned inwardly and she hope that she could at least persuade him into thinking about it so they could just leave.

"Now wait a minute. I walked all the way up here and as your girlfriend I at least deserve to look."

"Fine, but I don't see why. It's all wrong for my first place, babe. The kitchen is too small, it doesn't have a bathtub, and there's hardly any closet space," Wally felt the need to point out before she had even left the room. Nonetheless, Artemis made her way to inspect the kitchen with Wally trailing behind her, bored expression plaster on his face.

Artemis made a face when she realized that he was right. The kitchen was tiny, at least smaller than the on in their apartment in Gotham. Though as Artemis thought about it, how much would he actually even use the kitchen? Other than to store his massive amounts of snacks, it wouldn't get much use.

"It's not that bad and the tiling is really nice," Artemis protested as she passed him on the way to the next room. Wally followed once more, humoring her commentary.

"Seriously, the bathroom is cramped too. And what am I supposed to do without a bathtub?" he whined as Artemis opened the door.

It was very, very white and looked clean, though once again Wally was right. It was cramped as well, but the layout was thought out nicely with enough room for a decent sized counter for the sink and a small linen closet. The shower stall in the corner was definitely economical compared to the standard bathtub.

"I don't know, Wally. Maybe you can go out back and pay someone to hose you down?" She suggested, trying to edge her way around him to get out of the tiny room. She couldn't and ended up having to push him out the door after a few minutes of struggling. Wally didn't even try to keep the amusement off of his face.

"Then again you could always just use the shower," she added when they were back in the hallway.

"You know that I like to relax in the tub, babe," he exclaimed childishly, but she did not protest the fact. The amount of times he had called her from his bathtub just to talk during the duration the their relationship was ridiculous. Instead of speaking, she ignore him and continued on to the last two doors.

Pulling open the first, she found a closet. Giving her boyfriend a judgmental look as she asked, "Not enough closet space? Really, Wally?"

"I have a lot of stuff?" He offered, grinning sheepishly.

"Whatever you say, babe." She didn't argue and moved to push the last door open.

Immediately, she saw that the bedroom was a large, well lit space. The closet doors had been left open and the space in there was rather minimal, but the room was definitely the best part about the apartment. It was spacious and open and filled with natural light. She took a few steps further into the room when Wally made a comment.

"It's really impractical, don't cha think? At least considering that this place is aimed to house students," Wally said and it took Artemis a moment to spot what he was talking about. When she finally spotted the large bay window, she nearly kicked herself. The light had to come in somewhere.

She walked towards the window, appreciating the workmanship and the ornate design considering the overall size of the window. Wally was right to call it impractical, but Artemis couldn't help to think that it was beautiful. The view wasn't too appealing, just overlooking a few trees and the small park behind the building, but it didn't matter Artemis was sold despite the fact she wasn't the one looking for an apartment.

"I love it," she breathed out quietly before changing her tone and addressing her boyfriend, "I mean, yeah it's definitely impractical for the whole man cave thing you're going for, but I'll definitely be looking for a place with windows like this when I try to get my own place."

Artemis glanced out the window once more, taking in how different this view was compared to the view she from her room in Gotham before turning back to Wally. His head was tilted slightly as he regarded her thoughtfully. Moving to the side to let her leave first, he took another long look around the room before following himself.

"I'm sure we'll find the perfect place for you tomorrow," Artemis offered as she watched Wally lock and close the door.

"Actually I had my doubts about this place in the beginning, but now I think it might be exactly what I'm looking for," he commented casually as they descended the first flight of stairs.

"But you pretty much said you hated everything when I first came in," Artemis reminded him casting a suspicious look in his direction. "Besides, it's pretty far from the campus. We'll never get to see each other except for weekends."

"Well I thought of something that makes up for all of that," his tone was cheeky and he grinned slyly when she turned to look at him again. It was that look that had Artemis genuinely curious, despite this she acted like it was a chore to humor him.

"Oh really? And what exactly would that be?

"Well while you were admiring the bedroom I couldn't help but to think of you. Waking up and seeing your face first thing every morning with sunlight coming in through that stupid window. And I think that would make up for all of it," he says softly. After a best of silence he grabs her hand and tugs her down the next flight of stairs.

Artemis can't keep the blush or the smile from spreading across her face. Wally had the tendency to be really sweet when he wanted to be.

"Unfortunately, that will have to be saved for weekends only. It really is pretty far from my dorm, Wally," Artemis pointed out a regretful expression forming on her face.

"It doesn't have to be, ya know," Wally finished with a hopeful smile on his face.

"Wally, are you asking me to move in with you?" Artemis teased, starting down the stairs once more dragging him along with her. Wally followed willingly, carefully debating on his answer in the silence.

"Maybe?" A short pause and he amended his answer, mentally kicking himself, "Wait, no, no! I meant yes! Definitely yes."

Artemis stops on the step she's on and turns to look up at him. Her voice sounding perfectly calm, despite how tremulous she felt as she spoke, "So...we'd live together here?"

"Well yeah. If you want to that is. I don't wanna cramp your style if you do want to live in the dorms though. It's your choice, babe," Wally rambled nervously, taking the lead and starting back down the steps as he continued. "But the option is definitely open if you want. I know that it's a big step for us, so if you don't want to then I completely get it. I just thought that...well, you know what? Never mind. Just forget I said anything."

Artemis stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs, holding tightly to his hand. Pulling him to a stop, she stepped into his path. He tried to avoid her eyes, his face almost matching his hair.

"You know, I think I do want to live together." She smiled up at him and paused before adding with a second thought, "If you want, of course."

Relief flooded Wally only to be replaced by joy as he swept her into a hug. "Really? Are you sure?"

Artemis laughed, burying her face in his chest before responding. "Of course I'm sure. Definitely sure."

Wally joined in with her laughter and the next thing she knew he had picked her up and was spinning them around. "This is going to be great, babe. You and me with our own place. Mom is going to throw a fit. I can't believe that we're really going to do this."

"Agreed, but I'm happy that we are. You, of all people, are going to turn me into a domestic," she teased when he had finally put her down and the two moved towards the main office.

"Domesticating the fearsome Artemis Crock." Wally squeezed her hand lightly as he continued, "I must be extremely brave or extremely stupid."

"Why does it have to be just one?" Artemis stuck her tongue out in his direction.

"Hey now, don't stick it out if you don't plan to use it." Wally winked in returned. " Prepare to be domesticated, babe. Now let's get this over with before we're late to dinner."

"Well just as long as you don't bring a dog home. If we get to that level of domestication, I'm walking. And you do know we're already late, right? " Artemis opened the door to the office and Wally stepped in cursing under his breath.

"Man, Aunt Iris is going to kill me."

* * *

**I get to write the next one and then I am done with the writing. Woohoo!**  
**This one was completely dorky, I know.**  
**But I liked the idea of Wally looking into getting his own place and Artemis planning on living in the dorms, but Wally deciding they should just move in together.**

**I think I might actually start actively shipping this again. These two make me happy.**

**Hopefully, you enjoyed it.**


	4. Expanding the Family

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**expanding the family**

**.**

* * *

Hand in hand, Wally and Artemis walked along the sidewalk of the strip mall. There weren't many shops for them to choose from, but it was close to the apartment and gave them something to do.

"Oh, hey! they have a green wok." Wally pointed at the brightly colored display in the window of the kitchenware store. Artemis rolled her eyes and tried to lead him away.

"It would just sit in the cabinet, babe," Artemis said as she eyed the compound bow in the window of the outdoor store they were passing.

"It would just sit in the closet, babe," Wally repeated in a teasing tone that made Artemis roll her eyes again. She didn't bother hiding the grin growing on her lips. "Look, babe! Something's going on at the pet store. We should go."

"It's probably the shelter's monthly adoption day," Artemis sighed. "We don't have the time for a dog, Wally."

"Come on, Artemis. No one said anything about adopting anything. I just want to look, besides you're the one that said something about getting a fish a few weeks back," Wally spoke as he nudged his shoulder against hers, giving her an almost pleading look that she promptly ignored.

"I'm pretty sure you said something about a pet rock," Artemis added as she allowed herself to be pulled past the coffee shop, a logistics store, and a shoe store. Before she knew it, Wally had released her hand and was sitting on his heels in front of a row of cages. She watched as he baby talked the dog in the cage as it tried to lick his face through the bars of the cage. He cooed at the dog a few more times before standing back up and turning to face Artemis sheepishly.

"Maybe we should at least donate some money to them or something?" He suggested shrugging his shoulders as he looked back down at the dog. Artemis smiled softly and joined their hands together once more, leading him into the store.

"Definitely. I mean it's the least we can do since we've decided that we don't have time for a dog," she agreed, reminding him of their previous decision. Artemis had noticed that over the past few months she had to remind him more frequently that they didn't need a dog. She had made the comment last week about getting a fish to hopefully quell the want for a dog.

"Oh man. Can you imagine us trying to take care of a puppy?" Wally laughed, as they passed a display of various costumes for different animals. He stopped and fingered the clothe of a red superhero cape before hurrying back into step with her. With a short glance over her shoulder, she noted the cape was marked for dogs. Big surprise.

"It would probably chew up all of your shoes...not like they last very long anyway," she commented dryly. Wally went through shoes faster than she used to go through arrows when they were on the Team.

"Or maybe you're bow...since it does just sit in the closet," he countered teasingly, waggling his eyebrows in her direction. They stopped in front of the birds, most of the larger ones were squawking loudly. Artemis moved to look at the cage full of finches while Wally poked his fingers in to pester the parrots.

"It would make room for a brand new one," she grinned back before she asked, "And how exactly would we housebreak one before semester starts?"

"We couldn't, so we would have to deal with accidents all the time." Wally pulled a face at the thought and went back to trying to coax the nearest parrot into letting him pet it.

"And the fact that it would want to sleep in bed with us at night," Artemis scoffed, stepping away from the finch cages to join Wally. She didn't bother poking her fingers in the cage as she watched one brave parrot edge its way over to Wally's still fingers curiously.

"No way that would happen. Our bed is too small as it is," Wally claimed as he watched the bird carefully nudge him while getting a closer look at what was intruding upon their cage. Wally stayed very still at the close inspection from the parrot.

"Babe, the bed is big enough. You just think that because you sleep sprawled across the entire thing," Artemis pointed out as the bird bit down on Wally's finger suddenly. Wally was quick to pull his fingers back, rubbing his newly bitten one fiercely as he shot a look in her direction.

"I do not!" he protested loudly and the parrots began squawking once more.

"You do too! You nearly punched me in the face in you sleep when we first moved in together," Artemis informed him with a sardonic tone. She crossed her arms and pinned him with a look.

"...Did I really?" He had stopped rubbing his finger and looked at her curiously.

"Yes Wally, you did," she replied as she brushed past him heading in the direction of the aquariums.

"You blocked it though, right?" Wally followed a few steps behind her pausing to look at a shelf of beta fish kept in individual containers.

"Lucky for you, yes I did," Artemis called over her shoulders as she ran her fingers along the sides of the empty aquariums that were for sale.

They wouldn't need a big one if they were getting a fish, but she didn't want something plain. She eyed the prices on the aquariums with lighting and compressors and grimaced at the thought of feeding Wally ramen until their next bill free pay day. She moved down the line and settled on one of the old fashion round fish bowls.

"Lucky for me?" Wally asked as he peaked around the corner of the aisle, holding two containers with brightly colored beta fish in them.

"You would have woken up face down in the floor the next morning and probably every morning after that for a month," Artemis informed him in a flat tone without sparing a glance. She turned and approached the wall of aquariums filled with various reptiles and amphibians.

"Well yeah, lucky for me then." Wally had placed the containers back on the shelf and sauntered down the aisle to place his arm around her shoulders. Artemis ignored him and leaned closer to the glass to inspect the turtles behind it.

"So to the fish then?"

"What you don't want a cute little turtle?" She tapped the glass before glancing at her boyfriend over her shoulder.

"Well they're not exactly cute..." Wally shrugged, uncomfortable look on his face.

"So how about a gecko then?" Artemis stood straight once more and gave him a curious look.

"I'm not really comfortable with living with any type of reptile...but don't mention that to La'Gann, okay?" Wally admitted as he shrugged once more.

"So snakes are out too then?" Artemis suggested, laughing lightly.

"Oh yeah. Definitely out," Wally replied, shaking his head a good natured smile on his face. He began walking in the direction of the fish aquariums.

"You do realize that La'Gann isn't a reptile, right?" she asked as she joined him in front of a tank full of goldfish.

"I know that, but he's got really amphibious qualities and that automatically associates with reptiles in my mind," he explained tapping the glass causing a school of fish to disperse in different directions. Artemis placed her chin of his shoulder as they watched the fish in the large tank.

"Even though there ar-" she started happy to call him out on something to do with science.

"I know all about the differences between amphibians and reptiles, babe. Now will you stop giving me a hard time so we go look at the fish?" he interrupted, turning his head just enough to give her a hard stare followed with a light kiss on the nose.

"But you know how much I love giving you a hard time, babe," Artemis commented, standing on her tiptoes to give kiss Wally on his cheek.

"Yeah, I do. We do live together," he reminded her.

"Good point. So what kind of fish do you think should we get?" She asked eyeing the various tanks they could pick from.

"Let's get one of those ugly, bubble-eyed ones," Wally suggested with an edge of excitement in his voice. He moved a few feet to look at the suggested fish.

"You don't want a gecko or a turtle, but you want a bubble-eyed goldfish?" Artemis asked skeptically, moving in the opposite direction to look at the more colorful, tropical fish.

"Hey, I don't have to touch a fish," he pointed out in a satisfied voice.

"We're not getting an ugly fish, Wally." If she didn't put her foot down then, he would go on about it until she relented and let him have his way.

"Maybe we should get a tropical one then?" Wally moved so he was standing to her right, hunched over to look at the lower aquariums.

"Honestly, I feel like Kaldur and Tula would disapprove," Artemis laughed. Wally grinned up at her at the thought.

"Or set them free back into their natural habitat," he added as he scared the fish again by tapping on the glass

"So we'd have to hid the aquarium if they ever visited." She elbowed his side and gave him a stern look silently telling him to 'stop that' before they got kicked out for harassing the animals.

"Babe, maybe we shouldn't get a fish?" He looked to her with a rather despondent look on his face

"You might be right. I don't think we're really fish people anyway," she agreed feeling a little relieved. Changing a fish tank didn't really appeal much to her.

"Yeah, I think we'd probably be better suited for a dog over a fish," Wally tried bringing up to her again and Artemis groaned inwardly. The two of them began walking towards the next section. The first glass case they passed offered her an answer.

"How about a hamster then?" She suggested quickly, hoping that the small creature would appease him. Artemis gestured at the teddy bear hamsters that were actually really adorable.

"I feel like we would lose it," he admitted nonchalantly, he didn't bat an eye at the tiny critter.

"You know that you're not supposed to let them run loose, right babe?" She couldn't help the cynical tone that crept into her voice. Wally moved on to the next set of cases and Artemis made no suggestion to getting what was in them. She would not willing live with rats.

"Well yeah, I know that. When I was a kid I had a hamster and I came home one day and it escaped from it's cage," he explained, pulling a face when he sighted the large rat scurry across the enclosed area.

"Did you find it?" She wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer as she had heard stories of lost hamsters in elementary school. They usually never ended well.

"Uh...yeah. About three years later."

"Oh-kay. No hamsters it is," Artemis told herself, turning away from the hamsters and joining Wally a little further down the aisle at a large waist high glass tank.

"How about a ferret? You can let them run loose or we could even put it on a leash," he proposed pointing at one sleeping in the hammock setup in the center of the enclosure. It was cute with mask like markings, but the scent coming from their cage was overwhelming.

"It's a musk animal. Think of all the complaints we would get from the neighbors," she pointed out in earnest. The lady upstairs would have a fit. She complained about everything she could always coming back to the fact that her precious cacti couldn't live in such conditions.

"Ew. Yeah, forgot about that. How about a cute, fluffy bunny?" A scowl appeared on Wally's face, but he was quick to move on to the next option he could see.

"Not a big fan of rabbits." She blames that stupid poster in Gotham and partially her sister.

"Okay. Maybe we could try a puppy since we're getting low on options?" Wally asked slyly, hopeful grin on his face.

"As soon as we got one, we'd find out that we're cat people," Artemis deadpanned. She gave him a flat look and he immediately dropped his expression.

"Babe, you don't even like cats," he pointed out mournfully.

"Exactly," she said smugly. "Maybe we're just not animal people, babe."

"I guess we could always get a pet rock," Wally suggested dolefully. Artemis patted his arm comfortingly.

"We really should probably get out of the pet store before the animals catch on and decide to attack," she offered in attempt to cheer his spirits

"I guess that's a good idea." Wally was already heading towards the exit, dragging his feet pathetically. Artemis rolled her eyes, but followed. She caught sight of the clock over the doors and noted the time. She figured it was worth a try.

"So do you want to get some lunch?" Artemis threw her arm around her boyfriend as she offered. "We can go to that buffet you like so much."

"I guess, babe," Wally accepted hesitantly and wrapped his arm around her waist in response. The two exited the store and were greeted with various barks at their arrival outside.

"We were going to don-" Artemis stopped when she realized Wally wasn't next to her anymore. Glancing around, she found him knelt down in front of a small kennel. A small puppy was licking at his fingers as he tried to scratch his head.

"Aw, babe. Look at this one. He looks so sad," he called over to Artemis. She couldn't help but to roll her eyes before making his way to stand next to him.

"I probably would too if I were stuck in a cage all day," she commented dryly.

"He's really cute, ya know, for a dog," Wally stated, hope sneaking into his voice once more.

"I guess," she lied. In all honest, the dog looked pathetic. His eyes were watery, there was a healing tear on his ear, and he was shaved in places where sores were trying to heal. He couldn't have been more than a few months old, but he already looked worse for the wear.

"And his name is Brucely! Like Bruce Lee, get it?" Wally chirp happily. He seemed convinced that Artemis was warming up to the idea of getting a dog when in reality she was just humoring him.

"Yes, babe, I get it," she deadpanned and began tapping her foot impatiently.

"We could have our own little martial artist in the family."

"I thought that was what Dick was for. He'll get jealous if you try to replace him, you know. Trust me, I went to high school with the little attention whore," Artemis pointed out, Wally scratched behind the puppy's uninjured ear.

"Okay, so when Dick's not around, he can fill in," Wally compromised before turning his attentions back to Brucely.

"Wally, I thought we decided we weren't dog people," Artemis chided, crossing her arms. Wally paid her no mind as he continued petting the puppy.

"We're still not, but a good cause calls for sacrifice. I mean, he's a pitbull. His chances of being adopted are really low to begin with, babe," he countered, pleading tone could be heard in his voice.

"Wally..." Artemis groaned looking at her boyfriend exasperatedly.

"Come on, babe. Just look at him. Can you really say no to a face like that?" Wally gestured to the sad looking puppy. He had an equally sad look on his face and Artemis sighed in resignation.

"...No."

"Really? You mean it? We can get him?" Wally's expression and tone of voice was immediately cheered. He was suddenly at full height once more and had her hands clasped in his. His look was optimistic as he waited for her to confirm her answer.

"Only if you agree that housebreaking him is your responsibility. I do not want to wake up in the middle of the night to take your dog for a walk," she informed him in a stern tone. He nodded eagerly before sweeping her into a hug.

"Fine! Great! Awesome! We got a dog, I can't wait to tell Dick!"

"We actually have to adopt him first," Artemis reminded him once he had released her.

"Details, babe. Details. You go and get some food and a collar and I'll do the adopting thing. I'll come find you when me and Brucely are done here, okay?" He pushed her lightly in the direction of the doors as he turned to hail one of the volunteers from the shelter.

"Fine." Artemis rolled her eyes and retreated back into the pet store they had just vacated, stopping to grab a basket. Consulting the hanging signs, she headed in the direction of the dog food. Wally and Brucely found her twenty minutes later, still studying the different bags of puppy kibble.

Artemis hadn't known it about their newest member of the family at the time, but she would find out soon enough that: no matter how many toys they would buy Brucely he would always prefer Wally's socks right out of the dryer, the bed they had bought him was a useless investment as he preferred to sleep wedged between the two of them, and no matter how many times he would get in trouble for strewing the trash across the living room, he loved them as much as they loved him.

Even Artemis would begrudgingly admit that to be true.

* * *

**This took me a very long time to write and I'm still not happy with it. But I had put off writing this long enough. **  
**So yeah. Hopefully, it's not as bad as what I think it to be.**

**I hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. Waiting up

**Consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**waiting up.**

**.**

* * *

She hated painting her nails.

The smell was so bitter and overwhelming. Then there was the stickiness of the polish if you accidentally touched it. The fact that the act was so tedious, and that you would have to turn every which way to actually paint the nail and then you would still manage to miss at least one corner or an edge.

Artemis absolutely hated painting her nails. It took too much time to actually sit still and paint them evenly, then you still had to wait until they were dry until you could go do anything else. Yet, here she was. Painting her toes that obnoxious, banana yellow that Wally had picked out ages ago to match his uniform.

Wally was actually the reason she was sitting on the couch messing with the acrid paint, she was waiting on her obnoxious speedster to finally roll in from a night out watching the game with his friends. It was strange, being back in their apartment. If she were honest with herself, she would admit she didn't much enjoy it. This was her home and no matter how long she had been gone, she shouldn't feel out of place. She really wished that Wa-

Oh, gross. There was now a sticky droplet of polish sliding across the top of her foot.

With a sigh, she yanked a tissue from the box on the coffee table and wiped it off before it made a bigger mess. Tossing the tissue on the table, she glanced at the clock on the wall.

1:12 AM

A small frown furrowed at her brow, but she dutifully turned back to her half painted foot. Dipping the brush back into the bottle, she dabbed at her middle toe carefully. As she moved on to the next toe, the mechanisms in the lock clicked and the door opened to a unsteady looking Wally.

He glanced around the apartment a little unsurely before his eyes landed on her.

"Hey you," Artemis glanced up shortly giving him a small smile. "It's about time you came home."

"Hey," his own voice was small and hesitant, adding nothing else. He moved carefully, closing the door behind him before making his way to the other end of the couch watching her the entire time with wide, glassy eyes. He finally took a seat next to Brucely and Artemis could smell the whiskey he had partaken in coming off him in waves.

Finishing the first coat of her second foot, Artemis switched feet and started on a second coat to make the color more opaque. From the corner of her eye, she could see Wally following her movements with much care. She stopped and looked over at him, patting the cushion next to her with a reassuring smile. Wally looked down at their sleeping dog as if consulting him on the possible move. It took a long minute, but his conference with Brucely eventually ended and apparently the idea of Wally moving down the couch was approved because that's exactly what he did.

He was hip to hip with her and Artemis already felt more at ease with him next to her. She turned her attention back to her toes once more, with only six toes to go she would not be deterred. The shaky, deep breath that came from Wally caused her to still once more in anticipation.

"Artemis." His voice was rough and sounded a little choked. She made a small noise at the back of her throat acknowledging her name. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, Wally," she replied as he arms circled her shoulders. His head bowed forward to rest against her upper arm. "We got home this afternoon though. Remember?"

"I wasn't sure," he answered, sounding muffled and she felt the arm of her jersey dampen the slightest. "When you were gone, I would think you were here. Now that you're here...I'm not sure I can believe it."

"But I am here," Artemis stressed. Putting down the nail polish and placing her feet back on the floor, she turned her upper body towards her boyfriend. Pulling him into hug, she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I am here. Believe it, okay?"

"I'm trying, but you've been gone for what seems like forever." Wally's arms tightened around her. "I never knew what was happening. I never knew if you were injured or worse. Dick didn't tell me anything."

"Wally, you know he couldn't. It would have put the mission in jeopardy. You know that," she whispered, rubbing her hand in a small circle in the center of his back. "But I'm here now. That's all that matters."

"Even if you're not, I'm glad I got to see you." His voice was so sad and it took every bit of control to keep the tears now prickling her eyes from rolling down her cheeks. Artemis wanted to shake him and convince him that she wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't going to ever leave him again. "And if it really is you, then I love you so much, Artemis."

"I love you too, Wally. And I'm so sorry." Artemis pulled back enough to look at Wally's red, tear-streaked face and her own tears slid down her cheeks. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry."

His hand cupped her chin gently and his thumb moved across the apple of her cheek, wiping away a tear. "It really is you. You're finally home."

Artemis couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled up in the back of her throat. "I've been home since this afternoon, you idiot. You're the one that decided to leave to watch the game with the guys. I've been here waiting for you."

"I shouldn't have gone," he muttered almost mournfully, unable to meet her eyes. Artemis chuckled and leaned in to catch his lips with her own in a chaste kiss.

"No, you should have. Your friends would think something's up if you missed a playoff game and I don't think we're ready to tell everyone that I didn't actually die three months ago," Artemis reasoned, giving a small laugh. It was hard trying to keep her boyfriend from feeling guilty about having his own life. "You had a life for those three months, it's going to take some time before we're back on the same page, Wally. We'll get there. I promise."

"I want you to promise me something else, Artemis," Wally's voice was serious as he spoke and Artemis couldn't help but to note the grave expression on his face.

"Anything." Her own voice was soft as she waited for his request.

"Promise me that if you ever leave again, that you'll always come back."

"Wally, I will always come back to you," she gave a small smile as she paused, "I'll always come home and wherever you are is home. I promise."

"Good," he breathed out and pulled her back into a hug. He buried his face in her loose hair as he held her.

"Now promise me. I always want you to come home to me, too," Artemis said thickly after a moment.

His voice was muffled by her hair, but his response was audible. "That means I'd actually have to leave you, Artemis. That's something I have no intention of ever doing."

"Good, because if you ever did, I don't know what Brucely and I would do with all of your food," Artemis laughed even with tears streaming down her face. Wally pulled back and shook his head, chuckling all the same.

"Finish painting your toes and let's go to bed already." Wally leaned back into the couch and watched carefully as Artemis picked up the bottle of yellow polish and put the second coat on the last of her toes.

"It'll take a few minutes to dry," she spoke giving Wally another look. " Go brush your teeth and I'll meet you in there when they're done."

"You got it, babe." Wally swooped in to place a kiss on her cheek before standing and starting out of the room. He turned back to her and the expression on his face was a familiar grin. "Oh and babe?"

"Hm?" Artemis paused in blowing the best she could in the direction of her toes.

"That yellow looks great on you," he called over his shoulder as he exited the room.

Artemis smirked as she responded, "I've known that ever since our fifth date, remember?"

"I don't recall," he called out over the sound of the bathroom tap.

"Well then I suppose I'll just have to give you a refresher, huh?" she called back, grin on her own face. She felt better about being in their apartment once again, not just because she was home, but because she was with Wally and Brucely again.

And to Artemis, that was the exact same thing as being home.

* * *

**This one and the last one won't be as long as the previous ones, but I still personally like them.**  
**This part especially.**

**Only one more to go, I'm going to go over it and see if there's anything I can add to make it a little longer because otherwise it's barely hitting 1k in the word count.**  
**Either way it'll be up later tonight, probably close to midnight.**

**I hope you enjoyed this one!**


	6. In The Morning

**Consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**in the morning.**

**.**

* * *

It was too early, Artemis knows this without rolling over to check the same red numbers on their digital clock that has been in the same spot since they had moved into the apartment. She's far too warm and far too comfortable to move away from the body that she's tangled around. Her eyes open just the slightest, testing the amount of light that she can handle without that unpleasant burning sensation she gets when she knows that she hasn't yet gotten enough sleep to do anything. Luckily, the sun isn't even over the horizon yet and the room is still cloaked in a pale, twilight blue that is strangely comforting to her. She takes a moment to carefully prop herself up onto one elbow so she can get a look outside without disturbing the other warm body. Through the bay window she sees the edges of rich purple and a vibrant red-painted across the skyline.

Taking in the room that they're currently in, Artemis can't help but to be happy that they're home. That they're together again in their apartment, right below the woman who has a fascination with cacti. Right where they belong. She has known for a long time that she and Wally are the perfect partners in the hero game, but with this mission behind them she can look forward to being almost perfect partners in life. She hopes that they are the one thing that will never change, with or without the uniform. If they choose to keep the cowl, wherever they called home would be their Batcave, Brucely was easily their Robin, and no matter where they go being together would stay constant.

Yesterday had been a long day. She had been back in the familiar green and Wally had donned yellow once more. Of course, the two of them being teamed up was only natural after their long separation and if they hadn't been she was sure one of them would have protested for a team fact they had been sent to Paris had been a little annoying as they wouldn't get to stay due to the mission, but Wally knew that they would definitely be going back. Of course, that would be on their off time.

In the end, they had won. They had won, but almost the entire day Artemis had been filled with an unsettling feeling. She could feel the weight in her stomach at the time and the small nagging at the back of her mind without realizing what it had been, but now she could easily identify it as fear. All day she found herself watching Wally closely and she had just chalked it up to the mission, just being away from him for three, long months. She was worried and she had the right to be as well. When he had run off to the Arctic without a word her heart had nearly dropped to her feet and the bad feeling she had since waking up that morning had increased tenfold. Artemis had been terrified she would actually lose him. She felt what he must have felt the entire time she was undercover and she didn't much care for being on the other side of the glass.

Artemis had almost lost him, she could tell. When the disruptor was going chrysalis, she had almost lost him. Wally had continuously been struck by the energy from the disruptor. She knows that she had almost lost him, that if her luck or his luck had been any different she and Brucely would be sleeping in their bed all alone. Had the outcome been different, she didn't know what she would have done.

But he was here now. Luck had been on their side for once and that's all that mattered.

Her gaze trails to the sleeping redhead next to her and a contented smile spreads across her lips. She can't help the thought crossing her mind that Wally looks extremely unattractive in the almost ethereal glow of blue and she has to stifle a chuckle Though in his defense, Wally has never been much of a beautiful sleeper. His skin looks pasty under the odd lighting and she can see faint stains of where his freckles used to be. There was dried spit in one corner of his mouth and Artemis noted a new drool stain on his pillow with amusement. Wally's hair was a mess, sticking up here and there, but she really could never really say much on the subject considering her own disadvantages in the bed head department.

Artemis wasn't the least bit mindful as she moved her elbow and plodded back down against the mattress and squirming to get closer to the warmth Wally provided. Brucely gave a muffled bark, half awakened by the sudden movement of his bed beneath him, at the little noise she had made. The pit bull stood and tried to sneak his way up to the mass of pillows at the headboard bumping into the sleeping speedster's face in the process.

"Artemis, getchur hair outta my face," he mumbled swatting at Brucely's passing tail. The dog didn't spare him a glance as he found a suitable spot and walked out the same circle a few times before pooping down gracelessly on the pillow above them.

"Oh yeah, because my hair distinctly smells of Brucely's shampoo," Artemis whispered back, pushing herself to be flush against him as she wrapped an arm over his torso.

"You never know. We all did take a shower last night," Wally pointed out in a sleepy voice. Artemis had let out a small laugh.

When they had finally gotten home the night before, they had both going straight to the bathroom with the intention of taking a shower before passing out. They hadn't fought over who would get the shower first. They stripped themselves of their uniforms, bumping into the counter and linen closet door, managing to squeeze into the small space together with a little maneuvering. Unbeknownst to them, Brucely had been able to pry the slightly open shower door open and hop in. The two had just laughed tiredly at the antics of their dog and instead of shooing him out as they normally would, they took a few extra minutes and bathed him as well. Brucely was long overdue for a bath, smelling far worse than either one of them anyways. Besides, it's not like they had anywhere they needed to be the next day.

The sun was partially over the horizon now and reddish-orange had taken the place of the calm blue lighting. Artemis pulled away just enough to take in Wally's face as the room continued to brighten. He looked at her with curious eyes.

"Babe, what are you doing?" He asked lazily a grin on his face.

"And a good morning to you too," Artemis grinned at her boyfriend who just rolled his eyes before she continued running a hand through his messy hair, "When you asked me to move in with you, you told me that seeing my face first thing when the sun rises could make up for a lot of things," she spoke softly, watching the colors of his hair shine as a light creeps from between their curtains.

"So what is my gorgeous mug making up for this morning?" Wally stifled a yawn as he waggled his eyebrows in Artemis's direction accompanied with what he probably thought to be a charming smile. Had he not had bedhead and dried drool on his face, it may have passed as charming, but to Artemis he just looked goofy.

Handsome, but still goofy.

Wally stifled a yawn as he waggled his eyebrows in Artemis's direction accompanied with what he probably though to be a charming smile. Had he not had bedhead and dried drool on his face, it may have passed as charming, but to Artemis he just looked goofy.

Handsome, but still goofy.

"Absolutely nothing. So I'm just thankful that I get to see your face first thing when the sun rises," Artemis replied, leaning forward to brush her lips against his cheek.

"Aww, babe. Don't get all soft on me before breakfast." He pulls her to him and presses a kiss against the top of her head as Artemis opts to poke him in the ribs for the comment. "To be honest, I thought I had drool on my face again or something."

"Oh, you do, but I wasn't going to point out the obvious," Artemis pointed out cheekily, voice slightly muffled from being against his chest.

"You love me anyways," Wally sighed happily, not bothering to wipe the dried spittle from his face. He had time to do that when they actually made it out of bed, which would definitely be later in the day.

"How could I not, Wall-man?" Artemis agreed and closed her eyes once again. "Let's go back to sleep, we deserve it after yesterday."

"Sounds good to me, babe. But since I'm thinking about it, we're having bacon when we get up. No matter what time it is, okay?" Wally's voice trailed into a yawn as he spoke. When she didn't answer, Wally pressed another kiss to her head before adding quietly, "Sweet dreams, babe. I love you. "

Artemis was already asleep at Wally's reminder, and she was happier than ever to be back in the presence of those she loved and those that loved her in return. Finally, the sun at last crested over the horizon letting the light flood in through that impractical bay window that she loved so much to cast a golden glow over their contented family.

* * *

**After tweaking this over the past few hours, I am pretty much happy with it. So I get to mark this baby as 'Complete'.**

**And now I can explain the extra little theme I unintentionally included (in the beginning). **

**Throughout all six of these memories, there has been mentions of time and someone always looking at the time. I felt as though this was appropriate since in canon the time between these two was limited. In this memory, the one Artemis would give anything to have, time is irrelevant for obvious reasons.**

**Unfortunately, their time together ran out in canon and I felt like that was pretty important to kind of make note to of that in these. In fanon terms, Wally and Artemis will always have infinity together.**

**I wanna thank all of you guys for bearing with me on this one and hopefully we'll get a canon happy ending for Young Justice one day.**

**I really hope that you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Whether you clicked over from Tumblr or are a permanent resident of FFN, thanks for reading. You all are wonderful.**


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